iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Philip Nel @philnel.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Fun with maps. On Apple Maps, you can report when something’s missing. So, for instance, one might select “Lake America” & note that Lake Ontario is missing. Since one needs to identify a business, I chose “Water Supplier”

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Philip Nel @philnel.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

What is Comic-Con like? The full, overwhelming experience is hard to convey, but here's my personal top 10 for the 2026 one — held last week in San Diego. philnel.com/2026/07/31/s...

Phil Nel, riding up the escalator at the San Diego Convention Center, smiling and holding up his Comic-Con badge. He is wearing an orange shirt. Bright sunlight casts shadows onto his face and shirt.

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Philip Nel @philnel.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

The Eisner Award speech I would have given & reflections on being a 4-time Eisner Award loser. philnel.com/2026/07/25/s...

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Philip Nel @philnel.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

FREE screening of Democracy Under Siege (documentary, featuring cartoons by the great Ann Telnaes / @anntelnaes.bsky.social ). Recommended! Free from July 3 to 5. www.democracyundersiegedoc.org

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Philip Nel @philnel.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

Spotify’s new pixelated disco-turd logo is such an elegant metaphor for its exploitative treatment of artists. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Five stars to the design team.

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Philip Nel @philnel.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

Christoph Niemann's "New Horizons" (cover for latest New Yorker) is... all too accurate. A succinct portrait of technology's addictiveness and dangers.

Menacing, red-eyed, blocky black-and-grey robots extend back to the horizon line. At the very front, a man sits in the giant hand of the nearest robot, smiling as he (the man) presses the screen embedded in the robot's fingertip.

The New Yorker cover for April 13, 2026.

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Philip Nel @philnel.bsky.social · 06/04/2026

T**mp, unhinged — from the incisive pen of Ann Telnaes @anntelnaes.bsky.social

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Philip Nel @philnel.bsky.social · 24/02/2026

1/2 The one hopeful thing I can say about this "Einstein" tool is the fundamental dishonesty of it all. Its creator, Advait Paliwal, is both marketing a tool designed to cheat and asking users of the cheating tool to trust him. "Lying is good. Trust me!"

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Philip Nel @philnel.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

🚫 Book Banning in the US is at a record high. 🤷 What should we do about it? 🤔 We'll address that question and others in... 📚 English 680: Censoring Children's Literature 👨🏼‍🏫 Kansas State University, Spring Semester 2026 📺 Thursday evenings, in-person and via Zoom

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Philip Nel @philnel.bsky.social · 17/11/2025

And, I don't know if it's perfect, but I think Squeeze's Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti is a great and vastly underrated record from that year. I listened to the Hoodoo Gurus' Mars Needs Guitars! a lot, too.

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Philip Nel @philnel.bsky.social · 13/11/2025

Succinct warning against outsourcing your thinking to an enthusiastic robot. #AI #LLMAI

Top panel: at left, hand holding mushroom. At right, smiley Pillsbury doughboy character labelled AI Speech bubble: “Is this mushroom edible?” Another speech bubble: “Yes!”

Bottom panel: at left, gravestone with “RIP.” At right, AI doughboy character says, “You’re right—that mushroom was poisonous. I’m sorry for the confusion! Would you like to learn more about poisonous mushrooms?”

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Philip Nel @philnel.bsky.social · 27/09/2025

For those who prefer a blog, here's "On Being Banned, Strategic Censorship, and Telling the Truth" (same essay) on my blog: philnel.com/2025/09/27/o...

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Philip Nel @philnel.bsky.social · 25/09/2025

The first in the "Children's Classics Critically" series was How to Read Harold. And, full disclosure: Melanie Ramdarshan Bold and I are co-editors of this series. Many more titles planed. Stay tuned! global.oup.com/academic/pro...

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Philip Nel @philnel.bsky.social · 25/09/2025

Attention, marmalade fans: The second "Children's Classics Critically" book is Please Look After This Bear: How Paddington Became British, to be published by @oxfordacademic.bsky.social in February 2026! global.oup.com/academic/pro...

White cover, Paddington-style hat at center.
Text, from top to bottom:
Children's Classics, Critically
Please Look After This Bear
How Paddington Became British
Melanie Ramdarshan Bold
and Aishwarya Subramanian

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Philip Nel @philnel.bsky.social · 24/08/2025

📢 Indivisible Manhattan Kansas (@indivisiblemhk.bsky.social) General Monthly Meeting. 📚 Manhattan Public Library Auditorium. 📆 Wednesday, August 27, 7 pm. ✊🏻✊🏾✊🏼✊🏿✊🏽✊🏻✊🏾✊🏼✊🏿✊🏽 Protect people. Defend democracy. Disrupt and disobey. Build alternatives. imhk.org?page_id=48

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Philip Nel @philnel.bsky.social · 16/08/2025

“I have hope. I see the possibilities—how, despite the darkness, this is also a time when we can rebuild our societies, starting with what’s right in front of us: our areas of influence. The world we once knew is decimated. Now we have to decide what we want to create.” — Maria Ressa

cover of Maria Ressa’s How to Stand Up to a Dictator: The Fight for Our Future.
Title is in white type; subtitle is in yellow type. Background is a greyscale photo of Maria Ressa outdoors on a street.

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Philip Nel @philnel.bsky.social · 01/08/2025

Saturday Aug. 2! @indivisiblemhk.bsky.social 's #RageAgainstTheRegime protest, 11:30 am MHK City Park. See you there! ✊🪧

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Philip Nel @philnel.bsky.social · 31/07/2025

"Refusing, Together: How to Fight the Regime, and Defend Democracy" — post by me on the @indivisiblemhk.bsky.social Substack. open.substack.com/pub/indivisi...

"Authoritarians are weaker than they appear. They depend upon the cowardice of Columbia University, the greed of CBS/Paramount, the obedience of law firms like Paul Weiss. They depend upon people and institutions volunteering their obedience." — Philip Nel

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Philip Nel @philnel.bsky.social · 26/07/2025

Humid & 87 F (31 C) in the shade but @indivisiblemhk.bsky.social is fighting for democracy!

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Philip Nel @philnel.bsky.social · 15/06/2025

Thanks to @demsabroad.bsky.social in Copenhagen, 275 people marched to say #NoTyrants (& #NoKingsInAmerica). The protests in countries with kings were not called #NoKings. (Denmark’s constitutional monarch was established in 1849.)

Alex (Dane) & Alexandria (American) hold signs saying “I’ve seen better cabinets at IKEA” and “You deserve prison but you won’t get time” (shoutout to Taylor Swift!)

At forefront: me. Behind, some protesters. Signs include “MELT ICE”; “PROTECT MOTHER EARTH”; crown with circle around & line through it, placed at center of US flag; a TRUMP checklist with checks next to Rapist, Career Criminal, Liar, Cheat, Terrible Manager, and an X next to King.

During march, protesters holding signs: “FINGRENE VÆK!” (“Fingers Away” or “Hands Off!”) & “HOW CAN I PICK ONE SLOGAN WHEN EVERYTHING IS ON FIRE?”

Before march began, protesters. One holds sign: “IN AMERICA, THE LAW IS KING!”

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Philip Nel @philnel.bsky.social · 12/06/2025

Democracy is a living thing. A report from the forum on "Challenges to Democracy" held in Zürich on Tuesday. Featuring MANY citations of the outstanding work of the @vdeminstitute.bsky.social — who you should follow. Via the @indivisiblemhk.bsky.social Substack. open.substack.com/pub/indivisi...

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Philip Nel @philnel.bsky.social · 02/06/2025

📱🌻 Art as Celebrity; or, Feeding Sunflowers to the Algorithm. (Photo taken at National Gallery, earlier today.) “No one sees the barn” — Don DeLillo

A group of people, smart phones raised, taking photographs of Van Gogh’s Sunflowers. Their focus is on their phones, not the painting.

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Philip Nel @philnel.bsky.social · 19/05/2025

Thanks for the shout-out! Minor correction: The Carrot Seed (1945) was the debut collaboration by Krauss and Johnson. However, A Good Man and His Good Wife (1944, with art by Ad Reinhardt) was Krauss's debut book.

Cover of A Good Man and His Good Wife, Story by Ruth Krauss, Pictures by Ad Reinhardt. Cover is green cross-section of house with — in red ink — cartoon rendering of man and wife in bottom right quadrant of house. All text is in red.

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Philip Nel @philnel.bsky.social · 14/05/2025

"This is not a sprint. This is also not a marathon. It’s not a race at all. This is ongoing until we restore democracy. It’s a way of life." — me. Honored to join Rep. Alexis Simmons (58th Dist) & Kaidy Smith — our @indivisiblemhk.bsky.social leader —at Flint Hills Resists, last night, Council Grove

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Philip Nel @philnel.bsky.social · 05/04/2025

5/5 From @indivisiblemhk.bsky.social's protest against #Trump / #Musk's path of destruction. #HandsOff!

Group of protesters including woman dressed as statue of liberty and man dressed as Uncle Sam. One sign reads "Hands Off Our Democracy."

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Philip Nel @philnel.bsky.social · 05/04/2025

4/5 From the @indivisiblemhk.bsky.social protest against #Trump / #Musk fascism. Over 900 people fighting for democracy! #HandsOff!

white pick-up truck drives in front of large crowd, lined up along Poyntz Ave. (Manhattan, Kansas), protesting the Trump/Musk regime.

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Philip Nel @philnel.bsky.social · 05/04/2025

3/5 From today's @indivisiblemhk.bsky.social #HandsOff! protest against the #Trump/#Musk regime, in Manhattan, Kansas. 900 strong against the oligarchs! #HandsOff!

People holding signs: "We didn't elect Elon," "Hands off Canada," "Uneducated people don't know how to question authority. Why do you think they're coming for libraries, schools, free speech, research?" and "Libraries Build Communities, not Billionaires"

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Philip Nel @philnel.bsky.social · 05/04/2025

2/5 More photos from today's @indivisiblemhk.bsky.social #HandsOff! protest. Over 900 people protested the #Trump/#Musk regime in Manhattan, Kansas.

A group of people holding yellow signs reading "Hands off Canada," "Hands of Rule of Law," "Hands off our bodies," and "In your guts you know he's NUTS!"

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Philip Nel @philnel.bsky.social · 05/04/2025

1/5 Photos from today's @indivisiblemhk.bsky.social #HandsOff! protest. Over 900 Kansas protested the #Trump/#Musk Regime.

Man wearing "NOPE" shirt waves distress-signal US flag (upside down). Signs read "Congress: Protect American Citizens," "Hands Off Education," "Dump the Department of Greed and Evil"

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Philip Nel @philnel.bsky.social · 03/04/2025

“Whose Country is This Anyway? Representation of Black People / British Spaces in Children's and YA books” lecture by @ksandsoconnor.bsky.social — Friday, Apr 4, 3:30 pm Central US time. Sponsored by @englishkstate.bsky.social Register for the Zoom link at tinyurl.com/sandsoconnor

Top 1/3rd: "Whose Country Is This Anyway?: Representation of Black People / British Spaces in Children's and YA Books." At right, cover of Karen Sands-O'Connor's book British Activist Authors Addressing Children of Color

Middle 1/3rd: photo of Karen Sands-O'Connor. At right, "DR. KAREN SANDS-O'CONNOR / UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD."

Lower 1/3rd: "FRIDAY APRIL 4, 2025, 3:30-4:30 CT. ZOOM TINYURL.COM/SANDSOCONNOR Sponsored by the K-State Graduate Track in Children's Literature with support from the Donnelly Faculty Award" At right: cover for Beyond the Secret Garden by Darren Chetty and Karen Sands-O'Connor

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Philip Nel @philnel.bsky.social · 19/03/2025

📚 In today’s mailbag! 📕 How to Read Like an Anti-Fascist by @o3dipamass.bsky.social, pub by @fordhampress.bsky.social 📘 Writing Themselves Into the Movement: Child Authors of the Black Arts Era by Amy Fish, pub by @umasspress.bsky.social 🔥 2 timely books on childhood, activism, & resistance! ✊🏽✊🏻✊🏾✊🏼

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Philip Nel @philnel.bsky.social · 16/03/2025

“Where law ends, tyranny begins” — John Locke (as seen on US Dept of Justice) #Tyranny #Fascism #DemocracyDiesInBroadDaylight

“Where law ends, tyranny begins”

photo quotation engraved on US Dept of Justice

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Philip Nel @philnel.bsky.social · 16/03/2025

“Nervous about Trump, international tourists scrap their U.S. travel plans.” #Trumpcession #recession #Trumptarrifs #tarrifs #USA

Headline:
Nervous about Trump, international tourists scrap their U.S. travel plans 
The Trump administration’s hard stance on tariffs and other international policies has some travelers rethinking where they vacation.

top of photo of Air Canada plane passing the American Airlines terminal at LaGuardia Airport in New York last week.

International travel to the United States is expected to slide by 5 percent this year, contributing to a $64 billion shortfall for the travel industry, according to Tourism Economics. The research firm had originally forecast a 9 percent increase in foreign travel, but revised its estimate late last month to reflect “polarizing Trump Administration policies and rhetoric.”

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Philip Nel @philnel.bsky.social · 01/03/2025

From the sharp pen of Sarah Neff #Zelensky vs. the Oval Office's cockroach infestation. #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 #ImpeachTrump

Ukrainian President Zelensky, dressed in black, surrounded by cockroaches dressed in suits — in the White House's Oval Office. One cockroach asks, "Why don't you wear a suit?" — an actual question asked by cockroach/reporter Brian Glenn in the Oval Office on Thursday.

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Philip Nel @philnel.bsky.social · 01/03/2025

“Danish grocery chain to distinguish European from US goods”: “Saying it is promoting European products rather than boycotting US ones, a Danish supermarket chain has a special label for goods from Europe. The move comes as many seek to protest Trump's aim to control Greenland.” #BoycottUSA

Headline: Danish grocery chain to distinguish European from US goods
First paragraph: Saying it is promoting European products rather than boycotting US ones, a Danish supermarket chain has a special label for goods from Europe. The move comes as many seek to protest Trump's aim to control Greenland.

Photo of fotex storefront — fotex is a Danish grocery chain

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Philip Nel @philnel.bsky.social · 12/02/2025

In case you’re unaware, the American Medical Association has a YouTube page. They are doing daily updates on bird flu and other outbreaks since the CDC cannot. youtube.com/@americanmed...

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Philip Nel @philnel.bsky.social · 11/02/2025

This is what democracy looks like! Members of Manhattan KS #Indivisible (@indivisiblemhk.bsky.social ) at Rep. Tracey Mann’s office this morning. #StopMuskCoup #FightFascism

Text: “Show me what democracy looks like? THIS is what democracy looks like! Today, 13 constituents met with staff members Dawson and Adrian at Representative Mann’s office in Manhattan to voice their concerns about the dismantling of the federal government, Musk’s conflicts of interest, and the impact on agricultural communities losing USAID funding. The group demanded that Representative Mann act in the interests of his constituents rather than maintaining prioritizing the status quo of prioritizing one’s political party above country. If you want to be heard, there is strength in numbers. Planning a trip to your legislator’s office isn’t difficult and many hands make light work.”
Photo: 13 people with sunflowers concealing their faces.

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Philip Nel @philnel.bsky.social · 07/02/2025

For more about how the reprint of Johnson's #Barnaby came to be, see this little blog post by yours truly: philnel.com/2025/02/07/u...

The cover of Barnaby volume 5, published by Fantagraphics, and designed by Dan Clowes. On a blue background, it shows Barnaby waving at Mr. O'Malley as he flies off into the distance.

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Philip Nel @philnel.bsky.social · 26/01/2025

Children's Literature as Public Humanities. Call for papers, 2026 #MLA (@modernlanguage.bsky.social) in Toronto. Deadline: Mar. 15, 2025. #CFP philnel.com/2025/01/25/c...

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Philip Nel @philnel.bsky.social · 08/01/2025

Great response from @bagleycartoons.bsky.social to the fascist toady Zuck.

Zuck (Zuckerberg) posts: “It's time to get back to our roots around free expression and giving people voice on our platforms. Here's what we're going to do:”

Pat Bagley responds with his cartoon showing Zuck shooting FACTS dead while kneeling before & offering $1 million to T**mp, who is seated on a throne. T**mp says “Now cluck like a chicken.”

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Philip Nel @philnel.bsky.social · 04/01/2025

“America on Edge: US staggers into 2025 buffeted by week of attacks and looming political violence” — The Guardian, with a succinct diagnosis of the national mood.

Headline from The Guardian: “America on Edge: US staggers into 2025 buffeted by week of attacks and looming political violence” Photo of person sitting on sidewalk, head in hands.

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Philip Nel @philnel.bsky.social · 23/12/2024

Yes. Varsity Donuts is real. Photos from a few weeks back. An actual donut plus sign advertising the local watch party for the series finale.

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Philip Nel @philnel.bsky.social · 04/12/2024

Pleased at the eccentricity of this. My top song is the Vaccines’ “Discount De Kooning.” My top artist is Beethoven (though shouldn’t that be top composer? Beethoven wasn’t playing the piano in these recordings). I also listened for 64,671 minutes in 2024. Which may be excessive. 🤷🏼‍♂️ #SpotifyWrapped

Spotify Top Artists: Beethoven, REM, Paul Simon, Cowboy Junkies. Spotify Top Songs: Discount De Kooning, Highlands, 3 Gymnopedies, Throw, Lazy.

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Philip Nel @philnel.bsky.social · 13/11/2024

When faced with a Trump supporter, I encourage you to say what witches say. “May whatever you put out into the world come back to you threefold.” It’s a blessing or a curse. It just depends on you. — Kaz Weida on 🧵s

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Philip Nel @philnel.bsky.social · 30/10/2024

➡️ Would you like more information? The two most critical calls to action the campaign is using now are: 1️⃣ Doing something by going to go.kamalaharris.com (this includes phone banking, text banking, canvassing, and many other opportunities to get involved) 🧵/2

More names, including: Molly Idle, Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic, Amitava Kumar, Laurie Keller, Aimee Mann, Corinna Lukyen, Tayari Jones

More names, including: Susan Minot, Kate Messner, Ellen Oh, Anders Nilsen, Maria Popova, Sara Pennypacker, Cherrie Moraga, Ann Patchett, Philip Nel (me!)

More names, including: Lane Smith, Adam Rex, Dan Santat, Rebecca Solnit, Dana Spiotta, Mona Simpson

More names, including: Anne Ursu, Kelly Yang, Tara Westover, Cheryl Strayed, Aylet Waldman, Tobias Wolff

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